Short takes for Dec. 13

December 13, 2013

We're glad to see the Canby Theatre has a new owner - the City of Canby. Theaters in small towns are a rarity these days, and if the city taking ownership of the theater means it can be put to use for the community's enjoyment, we see that as a real asset for the city and surrounding towns as well. There is apparently plenty of work to be done on the theater and audio and visual upgrades will be expensive, but with the possibility of bringing in money through grants or fundraisers out there, we're confident supporters of the theater will be able to get things done. The Canby News reported this week that the purchase agreement for the theater that was approved by the Canby City Council on Tuesday includes the purchase of the theater building, Deputy Registrar office, Thrivent Financial, the Massage Spot and the apartments above the businesses.

'Selfies' tasteless and tacky

THUMBS DOWN:

It probably isn't that big of a deal on the grand scheme of things, but we have to vent about images that were captured of President Barack Obama smiling and laughing and taking "selfies" with Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and UK Prime Minister David Cameron at the Nelson Mandela memorial Tuesday. The act is, at best, completely inappropriate, disrespectful and terribly ill-timed. "Selfies," which is when a person takes a photo of him or herself with their phone, are meant to be fun, and kids do it all the time, but there's a time and a place for everything. We think even children would know better than to do that at a memorial service. Perhaps we're overreacting, but it was pretty disgusting. This trio of leaders should be embarrassed. We're embarrassed for them.

Carr donation

THUMBS UP:

The Carr family continued its philanthropic ways last week when it was announced they will pay for the addition of a children's wing to the Marshall-Lyon County Library. It's another in a long list of gifts the family has provided to the city, and everyone in Marshall should appreciate this wonderful gift.

Happy returns

THUMBS UP:

If we had a hero of the week, this week's honor would go to Erica Clark, a college student who recently found an envelope with $2,800 in it in a McDonald's parking lot in Moorhead. Fearing someone had perhaps lost their Christmas shopping money, Clark returned the stash. Pretty cool gesture. Now that you've read this, ask yourself, would you have done the same?

Hold, please

THUMBS DOWN:

MNsure officials can tout the new health care exchange all they want, but the fact that callers to the MNsure help line are still forced to wait up to an hour for assistance is egregious. Really, who wants (or has time) to sit on hold for an hour? A representative of Healthnet, a nonprofit that helps consumers sign up, said 60-minute wait times are unusual and that the typical wait time is about 45 minutes, but that still seems rather high. MNsure next week is expected to bolster its trained staff by 15; that's good, but this is clearly a case where the state should've been a lot more proactive.

$2.98!

THUMBS UP:

Like the DOW's psychological 16,000 barrier on Wall Street, Main Street has a similar mark when it comes to gasoline prices, and it was broken Thursday, as the price for a gallon of unleaded in Marshall fell below $3 ($2.98). The price has gone down 16 in the last three weeks. Time to fill up those spare tanks!